The vehicle:
2000 Land Rover Discovery II

So the back story:
I rebuilt the front drive shaft, new u-joints, new centering ball. Its been about a month and I start hearing this chirping which then turned into a grinding noise. I removed the front driveshaft and engaged the CDL manually as I can't afford the linkage yet. Now the noises are gone. All the crosses look good but I think the centering ball is jacked. I haven't taken apart the driveshaft yet to look at the centering ball, that's probably the project for today.

The questions:
Can I drive for a while with no front driveshaft and the CDL engaged? It doesn't seem like there would be any issues. And if the housing is screwed up for the centering ball can I get just that piece of the shaft or do I have to buy an entire new shaft?

 

Check your rear roto-flex for cracks between the 6 bolts, if it is OK, then yes as long as you don't do full throttle accelerations and make sure your rear u-joint is greased and OK.